When the new reign of Tal’Dorei was established three centuries ago, Zan Tal’Dorei deposed a brutal tyrant. Though she was beloved by the people, she did not wish to be given unchecked or uncounseled rule over the realm. Nevertheless, her inner circle obeyed the will of the people and crowned her Sovereign of Tal’Dorei. She took to her new role well and swiftly expanded her council by appointing some of her trusted allies—and even some dissenting voices—to form an assembly of scholars, generals, and philosophers to govern at her side. This Council of Tal’Dorei worked alongside their sovereign to rebuild the realm following the end of Drassig’s line, and were instrumental in the following prosperity of the nascent Tal’Dorei Empire.

Twenty-six years ago, Sovereign Uriel Tal’Dorei II, the latest and last of the Tal’Dorei line, publicly ended the monarchy and passed power over to the council, formally divesting his line of power. Tragically, this ceremony was interrupted by the arrival of the four ancient dragons known as the Chroma Conclave. The dragons destroyed the city of Emon, and the man who had until moments ago been sovereign was one of the first casualties. Uriel Tal’Dorei is survived by his wife Salda, and three children—Odessa, Illiya, and Gren—who have used their family’s still considerable wealth and power to become well known public figures in Emon. Odessa herself won a seat on the council in a landslide victory.

In the generation since the fall of Emon, the council has risen to the challenge of rebuilding and governing their new republic. This state’s power is highly decentralized; each individual city-state in Tal’Dorei largely acts according to its own interests, with the council in place to ensure that pursuing those interests benefits the common good. Some critics of the republic say that the Tal’Dorei Council is little more than a glorified city council for Emon, though it is just as often praised for governing lightly as a rule, and for using the spy network helmed by the council’s Master of Law to root out corruption as needed.

In addition to the historical Six Masters whose positions have existed on the Tal’Dorei Council since Zan’s time, a variable number of delegates also cast votes in matters of state. Each settlement in Tal’Dorei whose population numbers at least five thousand is offered the option to elect delegates to the council if they wish to engage in national politics. The settlement is permitted one delegate per five thousand people, and the means of their election is left to the settlement’s local government. Additionally, any settlement with a population of over twenty thousand can appoint an ambassador to Emon; these ambassadors also sit on the council and have voting power.

Once in Emon, each township’s delegation is expected to negotiate with one another and find agreement. If an accord can’t be reached, they must go through the slow process of drafting proposals to be voted on by seated members of the council.

Though Kraghammer and Syngorn remain sovereign city-states, the invasion of the Chroma Conclave convinced lawmakers that even tighter alliances between the peoples of Tal’Dorei were necessary. One ambassador each from both Kraghammer and Syngorn now also holds a seat with voting power on the council. Each city-state has likewise sent a delegation to Emon to vouch for their interests.

Goals
Following Zan Tal’Dorei’s coronation, the Tal’Dorei Council existed to aid and inform the sovereign on how best to execute their duties. The council has evolved to manage the affairs of the city of Emon and provide a private forum for delegates from across the land to shape the future of Tal’Dorei. The council is made up of six masters, whose roles have existed since the time of Zan Tal’Dorei, and a variable number of ambassadors from all city-states across the continent who wish to participate in the coalition of power that is the Republic of Tal’Dorei.

The Six Masters are elected by a popular vote of all city-states who have sent an ambassador to the council. These masters are each beholden to a domain of responsibility, and they either inherit the existing infrastructure of civil servants, or restructure with the approval of the rest of the council. The domains are divided as such: Development, Arcana, Law, Commerce, Information, and Defense. Additionally, the first business of the council upon delivering or receiving a declaration of war is to elect a Seventh Master: the Master of War, who is appointed to the council by a vote of all sitting masters, ambassadors, and delegates. The council members are responsible for these domains throughout the city of Emon and work closely with community leaders in other cities to maintain order.

The Master of Development works with the masonry and carpentry guilds to oversee all major infrastructure projects within Emon, as well as allocating resources to projects needed in settlements that have a delegation in the council. In the past two decades, the current Master of Development has added an unprecedented eight
Lieutenant Masters of Development to his staff to serve the reconstruction needs of each city in the republic.

The Master of Arcana keeps vigil over the lawful use of magics within Tal’Dorei, informs the council on matters beyond the mundane, and occasionally works with the Alabaster Lyceum’s Headmaster. This councilmember is currently embroiled in debates over the danger that the League of Miracles poses to organizations like the Arcana Pansophical.

The Master of Law enforces all of Tal’Dorei’s written laws from within the Watchful Hall, and serves as high judge on legal matters that affect the fate of the entire republic. All lesser courts answer to their authority.

The Master of Commerce works with all major merchant guilds and trading networks within Emon and beyond. They are to maintain healthy trade at home and abroad, especially between squabbling delegates, and establish the government’s annual budget.

The Master of Information manages foreign diplomacy, and also serves as the head of a network of spies that, these days, is supplemented by the skilled eyes of the Clasp. Their work as spymaster and chief diplomat seeks to root out threats to the republic from within and without.

The Master of Defense is head of the Emon Guard, High Commander of Fort Daxio, and manages the allocation of federal resources to city guard groups throughout Tal’Dorei. They work closely with the Master of Law to mobilize armed troops throughout the country if supernatural or nonmilitary threats arise during peacetime.

The Master of War is a temporary position only instated during times of open or impending warfare. As Tal’Dorei has only a small standing army, this newly appointed master then assembles a military from city guards and town militias across the nation, mobilizing the elite warriors of Fort Daxio as needed. When peace is declared, the position is dissolved until it is called for again.

Relationships
The council maintains free travel, free trade, and free communication between its constituent settlements, and between the republic and its allies—both on Tal’Dorei and abroad. The incursion of the Chroma Conclave has united the oft-feuding city-states of Syngorn and Kraghammer like never before, and all of Tal’Dorei now enjoys free trade and open borders between even its most remote enclaves. Thanks to the actions of Vox Machina, the previously solitary city-state of Whitestone has joined the republic, to the benefit of both.

The Clasp was once considered a serious threat to the council’s rule, but times have changed. These days, Clasp Spirelings in Emon frequently make public appearances before the council on behalf of their own organization and their often unscrupulous business partners. This is to say nothing of the Clasp’s deep involvement in the Master of Information’s spy ring.

The Tal’Dorei Council has comfortable trade and diplomatic agreements between the realm of Othanzia in Issylra and the loosely federated cities of the Clovis Concord in Wildemount. The recent conclusion of a bloody war between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty in Wildemount has given the Tal’Dorei Council cause to send ambassadors to both nations to establish embassies, in hopes of creating an historic arrangement with all of the sovereign nations of that oft-maligned continent. On the continent of Marquet to the southwest, the great
city of Ank’Harel has been friendly and open when it comes to trade and commerce, but has shown no interest in any political relationships beyond that.